, Sarraya," Allia told her.  "I don't complain about your home."
	"That's because my home is perfect," she said airily.  "You can't complain about it, because everything is perfect."
	"Everything here is perfect to me," she retorted.
	"Well, I can't help it if you're all mixed up," Sarraya said flippantly.
	"I can't help it if a small body houses a small brain," Allia said in an off-handed manner, only glancing at the Faerie.  "It must be hard to go through life with such a limited ability to appreciate things."
	"I am not dumb!" she snapped hotly.  "And stop making fun of my height!"
	"It's a pity, brother," Allia said to him casually.  "She doesn't even have the awareness to know she sits in paradise.  I guess it's true what they say about the size of a person's head.  The larger the head, the smarter the mind."
	"Well!" Sarraya huffed, flitting up into the air.  "I'm going to bed.  Good night!" she added in a vociferious manner, then buzzed angrily into one of the three tents arrayed around the large fire.
	They watched her fly off, and Sarraya got an earful of their laughter to follow her into her tent.
	"That was well played, sister," Tarrin said with an appreicative smile.  "Var and Denai used to drive her crazy like that too."
	"I really want to meet your Var and Denai," she told him, looking out into the plain after a very faint noise ghosted to them, too faint to be made out.
	"They were quite a pair," Tarrin chuckled warmly.  "Var was serious and sober, but Denai was very young and very impulsive, and not a little reckless.  They turned everything into a competition, and when they weren't competing, they were usually fighting.  I miss them sometimes.  They never made a campsite dull, that's for sure."
	"They're lovers now, aren't they?"
	"They're married, actually," he corrected.  "And Denai's pregnant with their first child.  I'm not sure which tribe they're with now.  Denai is training to be obe, and that probably means Var ended up in her tribe."
	"Obe don't change tribes without exchanging with another obe from that tribe," Allia affirmed with a nod.
	"Well, she's only an apprentice, so she might have gone to Var's tribe.  You know, just apprenticed under the obe in Var's tribe.  Either way, the territory of their clan is way southwest of here, so I doubt we'll run into them," he sighed.
	"Which clan are they?"
	"Clan Dellinar," he answered.
	"An honorable clan," Allia nodded.  "Our clan has never had blood issue with them.   They're a very respected clan."
	Tarrin chuckled.  "Denai couldn't identify my clan brand when we first met," he told her.  "There are only thirteen clans.  How could she not know?"
	"You said she was young, brother.  She must have just forgotten.  That does happen, you know," she smiled lightly.  "Sometimes that memory of yours makes me sick, deshida.  You never seem to forget anything!"  She laughed.  "I struggle and work and tear out my hair to remember something you pick up in a matter of seconds, and never forget!  It's one of the rare times I ever feel anything negative towards you!"
	"Well, I'm sorry," he told her.  "I can't help it.  I've always had a good memory, and I just seem to have a knack for learning spells and languages.  Believe me, sister, I have a hard enough time remembering just about anything else."
	"Don't bury yourself in the sand, brother," she said with a quirky half-smile, using a Selani term that meant don't sell yourself short.  "That mind of yours seems to soak up everything.  You can always remember the little details that the rest of us forget.  That must be why you're so good at learning spells and languages.  You have amazing attention to detail, and both things are nothing but a stack of details piled one on top of the other."
	"I'll take your word for it, sister," he shrugged, his ears picking up when that faint sound reached them again.  He stared off into the eerily lit plain, his tail slashing a few times in irritation.  "What is that sound?" he asked shortly.
	"I think it's a Sandman," she answered.  "It'll need to get closer for me to be sure."
	"I don't want it to get any closer," he grunted.  "That moaning always makes my teeth grind."
	"I don't want it approaching either, but if we can hear it, at least we can keep track of it.  It won't sneak up on us."
	"We don't need any more of those kinds of surprises," he chuckled as his ears continued to scan the ghostly lit scrub beyond the light of the fire.
	The sound trailed off, and the night passed without incident.  They saw no Selani for two days as they moved south of east, but there were signs of the passing of a tribe.  The vegetation was eaten down in one area, and though the wind had scoured away all traces of them, their scent was still lingering on some of the exposed stones on the desert floor.  The scents were fresh, not even a day, and he realized that they had stopped here to let their animals forage.
	"They're going north," Tarrin announced.
	"That's not unusual," Allia replied.  "There are blooms in the northern marches in the fall."  A bloom was a rapid growth of vegetation, usually proceeding a rare rain shower or shifts in the ground water that brought it closer to the surface."
	"How can you tell it's fall?" Sarraya complained.  "There are no seasons out here.  Just hot desert, hot desert, and more hot desert."
	"The days are getting shorter," she told her.
	"Well, that's obvious," Sarraya huffed, flitting off his head.  "But it's not like this place suffers from the climate changes that everywhere else does."
	That much was true.  Because both spring and autumn were notoriously short, the transition from season to season was pretty swift.  The late summer of just a few days ago was probably full-fledged autumn in Suld now, with frost in the mornings and less rain than normal.  Winter would be marching in but a few rides behind that, and there would be snow on the ground before the last month of the year began.  It wasn't because spring and autumn were actually shorter than summer and winter--all four seasons were two and a half months long by the solar calendar--it was that what people tended to call "late summer" or "early spring" was actually another season.  Tarrin had been calling it "late summer" for a while now, when actually it was well into the calendar season of autumn.  But Tarrin was a farmboy, and in Aldreth, they went more by weather than they did by a calendar.  Tarrin didn't think his parents even bothered with them.  He never had.  He often had no idea what month it was.  The seasons ruled them, and it was by those seasons that they reckoned all time.
	Tarrin stopped and added it up.  If Gods' Day, the day after New Year's Day, was a little under two months away, then by a calendar, they were in the middle of autumn.  By a calendar.  In Suld and Aldreth--both had similar climates, though Suld saw alot more rain--they would be having warm days and cold nights, with sudden and often wild temperature shifts.  It could be hot one day, and bitingly cold the next, only to have it hot again the day after that.  A day that started with frost on the ground could end too hot to wear wool without sweating to death.  And when the rain came, it came hard in Aldreth.  Such wild temperature changes made rain during both the summer and the fall tend to be thunderstorms, and those storms could be very, very fierce.  In spring more so than fall, but the fall storms could occasionally match the savagery of their springtime cousins.
	"Maybe the rest of the world should take lessons from our desert," Allia teased the Faerie.
	Sarraya flew off, muttering curses.
	"Is she always so obnoxious?" Allia asked him honestly after Sarraya was well out of earshot.
	"Sometimes," he admitted.  "But she's been especially bad here lately.  Usually she's nice about as often as she's contrary, but for the last few days it's been nothing but snide comments and snippiness.  Something must be bothering her.  I think I need to ask about it."
	"She's the kind to take her discomfort out on others," Allia surmised.
	"She lets you know she's not happy, that's for sure," he agreed.
	"Well, she'd best come out of it soon.  She's starting to annoy me."
	"Sarraya loves to fight, sister," Tarrin chuckled.  "Get used to it, because she likes you, and she picks on people she likes alot more than she does on strangers.  That, or just do what you've been doing."
	"What is that?"
	"Get the best of her.  Whenever she's losing, she runs away."
	Allia laughed.  "I think that won't be too hard," she winked.
	He was about to agree, but he felt a familiar pulse flow through the Weave.  Another came, and then a third, and that third seemed to lock in on him.  Tarrin could feel them clearly, and the familiar hand of Keritanima was behind those sweeps.  She was searching for him, and her probes had finally found him, probably using his star as a means to find him as he used their stars to find the other Sorcerers.  "Kerri's looking for us," he remarked to Allia.  "I think she's going to project over here."
	Before he was finished speaking the air in front of them shimmered, and then an Illusion was built out of flows that were manipulated from thousands of longspans to the west.  It was an Illusion of Keritanima, exact down to the smallest detail, and a faithful representation of her at that moment.  And at that moment, the image of her was dressed in a frilly little nightgown made of silk, untied at the neckline and hanging off her left shoulder in a manner that would be very appealing to a Wikuni male.  The Illusion's eyes seemed to shimmer, and then it went from being a mere magical vision to seeming alive.  That, Tarrin knew, meant that Keritanima had joined to her Illusion, and now it was as if a spectral version of herself was with them.
	"Kerri," Tarrin smiled.  "You look sleepy."
	"It's dawn over here," she yawned.
	"You look tired, deshaida," Allia noted.
	"I've had a long day and a very short night," she complained grumpily.
	"Are you in Dusgaard?" he asked.
	She nodded. "A bloody cold place.  I thought Wikuna was cold," she said with a shiver.  "Did you know that they have to have a foot--er, span--of snow on the ground?"
	"Winter comes early in Ungardt, sister.  Very early," Tarrin chuckled.
	"That grandfather of yours is impressive, brother," she said with a toothy grin.  "He's as big as a bear."
	"He's pretty mellow for an Ungardt, Kerri," he told her.
	"I noticed."
	"What were you doing last night, if you're in Dusgaard?" Allia asked.
	"Staying up with Anrak," she frowned. "It's something of a custom for visitors to sit up and drink with their host.  Thank the Goddess I'm a Weavespinner.  I was neutralizing the alcohol before it could get me drunk.  At least I don't have a hangover, thank the Goddess."
	"I'll bet that really annoyed the Ungardt in the hall," Tarrin laughed.  "To see a little slip of a Wikuni girl stone sober."
	"I made quite a bit of money," she said smugly.  "They decided to wager just who was going to be under the table first."
	"You cheated, Kerri," Tarrin accused with a grin.
	"So?"
	Both Allia and Tarrin laughed loudly.  "Did everything go alright?"
	"Smooth as silk," she said confidently.  "My clippers had to chase off about six ships that followed us out of the harbor.  They lurked on the horizon until we crossed into Ungardt waters.  We had a tense moment with a squadron of longships, but I managed to talk our way around them.  They didn't like seeing a squadron of Wikuni clippers sailing into their waters.  Not that I can't blame them," she added as an afterthought.  "They escorted us to Dusgaard, and now they and my clippers are patrolling the waters off Ungardt to discourage anyone trying to sneak in."
	"Sounds like our ruse worked," Allia noted.
	"I think it did.  Jenna said that there was a mass exodus out of Suld when we left.  Everybody and his brother was in the city.  Oh, that reminds me," she said.  "There's been a bit of bad news out of Suld, Tarrin."
	"What?"
	"The Regent and the boy-king both are dead, as well as about half the Royal council and the heads of the four major noble houses," she told him.  "It was an accident, before your paranoia starts getting the best of you."
	"What happened?"
	"A fire at the palace," she replied.  "It gutted the wing that held the Royal apartments.  It was started by a kitchen cookfire, and got out of control.  It's very bad timing that alot of the heads of the higher noble houses happened to be at the palace at the same time.  It's left a serious vacuum in the city and kingdom both."
	"Who's in charge?"
	"Right now?  Jenna," she answered.  "It's part of the treaty between the Tower and the Crown.  If the throne vacates due to accident or treachery and there's no heir, the Keeper acts as Regent until a new king is chosen by the nobility.  Jenna's fairly ticked off about it," Keritanima laughed.  "She had enough work just being Keeper.  Now the courtiers of the Lion Throne are banging down Duncan's door to get audiences with her.  She's been howling at me for two days now, asking me how I do it."
	"Do what?" Allia asked.
	"Run a kingdom," she answered.  "It's really not that hard.  If Jenna can run the Tower, she can run Sulasia.  It's just a little more paperwork, that's all."
	"Poor Jenna," Tarrin chuckled.
	"Why would a treaty be set up that way?" Allia asked.
	"Simple, sister.  The Keeper's neutrality is never in question," Keritanima answered.  "If a king dies because of treachery, then someone had to kill him, and you never know who that may have been.  They added accidents because you never know if an accident is as accidental as it seems.  Either way, it puts someone with absolute neutrality in power who can punish the killer or determine that it truly was an accident.  It also frees the nobility to get down to the business of getting a new king immediately, without all that messy disorder that tends to follow the death of a monarch.  You know, some noble deciding that he's going to run things himself, and all that."
	"That's rather practical," Allia said appreciatively.
	"You know Sulasians, sister.  Practical, pragmatic, and as much fun as a box of wet sand," she said with a teasing look at Tarrin.
	"Joke all you want, but it works," Tarrin shrugged absently.
	"Where's Sarraya?" Keritanima asked curiously, looking around.
	"Off in a tizzy," Allia answered.
	"I was not!" Sarraya's voice called as she flew back to them.  "Hullo, Kerri.  You're looking a bit frumpled."
	"I feel frumpled," the Wikuni chuckled.
	"Well, that explains why Jenna hasn't talked to me," Tarrin mused.  "She must be up to her ears in paperwork."
	"Alot more than that," Keritanima told him.  "The citizenry is very nervous because rumors are flying that the fire was set on purpose, and Jenna's had to go out several times and calm things down because the nobles are too busy jockeying for a shot at the Lion Throne.  They all adore her, and she's about the only one in the city right now that can keep that powder keg from exploding.  The nobles think it was arson too, no matter what Jenna tells them, and they're all blaming each other."
	"How would Jenna know?" Sarraya asked.
	"There are any number of spells she could use to find out," Tarrin answered, cutting Keritanima off.
	"So, Sulasia's about to fly apart at the seams," Keritanima said off-handedly, "and it's going to get worse."
	"How can it get any worse?" Tarrin asked.
	"When they try to choose a new king," she answered.  "The heads of all four major houses died in the fire.  There's going to be little internal wars within those houses to choose the successors, and while they're doing that, the minor houses are going to be maneuvering to get the throne before any of the major houses can get organized.  It's so perfect for the minor houses that it really makes me think that someone did set that fire.  All the minor nobles houses are chomping at the bit, because they think it's their chance for their smaller, minor houses to get on the throne."
	"Isn't there a good candidate among the minor nobles?" Tarrin asked.
	"Several, but nobody knows them, brother," she answered.  "When it comes to winning the throne, reputation is almost as important as ability.  They're not going to put someone on the throne if they're not sure he'll do a good job, because anyone that backs the new king may end up on the wrong side of the sword if it comes out that he's really incompetent, and the rest of the gentry defies him.  It's a very unique situation, and I've already warned Jenna that the nobles may start fighting one another.  Without one good qualified and well-known candidate, it's going to spread the support out among a number of lesser ones, and you know what that kind of scenario can degenerate into."
	"Civil war," Tarrin growled.
	"Not quite.  More like an internal period of turmoil," she said succinctly.  "If I were a betting woman, and I am, I'd put my money on Duke Arren of Torrian.  He's a minor noble, but he has one of the best reputations in Sulasia as a fair, just, and kind lord, even if his desmense was what the Suldans would call a backwater town."
	"Suldan?" Sarraya asked.
	"A citizen of Suld.  You can't very well call them Sulasians, can you?" she asked with a toothy grin.
	"Arren would never seek the throne," Tarrin scoffed.
	"I know, and that's more the pity," Keritanima sighed.  "It may be a kingdom-wide affair, but if the citizens of Suld don't accept a new monarch, they don't get the throne.  That's why all the heads of the noble houses stay in Suld, no matter where their fief is.  It's more than an old saying in other parts of the world that as Suld goes, so goes Sulasia."  She grinned.  "In Wikuna, we say 'Sennadar marches to Suld's drum.'  It's a fairly accurate description of the international politics of the West."
	"So you say that more than Sulasia could be affected by this?" Allia asked.
	"Sister, the entire world can be affected by this.  I don't think either of you understand just how critically important Suld is on the world stage.  The person who sits on the Lion Throne wields vast amounts of power, power that extends far beyond Sulasia's borders.  Sulasia's the most important kingdom In the West."
	"Why?" Tarrin asked.
	"Because of the Tower, for one," she answered.  "And it's also the most stable kingdom on Sennadar.  All the other kingdoms have histories of turmoil and unrest, but Sulasia's been plodding along in domestic harmony for about five thousand years now.  Even when there's a change of dynasty, things have always been settled quickly and without much fuss, because the Keeper's always been there to step in and keep things running smoothly while a new king was chosen.  All the other kingdoms look up to Sulasia like a big brother.  That's why whoever sits on the Lion Throne has a great deal of influence.  But this time it's different, though," she mused, tapping her muzzle with a finger as she thought.  "Things have never been this unstable in Sulasia before, at least not to Wikuni memory.  If the nobles don't find a competent successor and ram him through the selection process, they may very well start fighting among themselves."
	"What's the selection process?" Allia asked.
	"The same as it is for any other kingdom, sister," she replied.  "Someone with a tracable royal or noble bloodline steps up and says 'I'm the King.'  Noble houses either support or denounce him.  If he has enough support among the noble houses, he's the king.  If too many powerful houses denounce him, he's usually exiled.  That's why the candidates are always very sure to have their support lined up before they make a claim on the throne."
	"That's a fairly simplified explanation, but it's pretty accurate given how much you left out," Sarraya agreed.  "There's a great deal of maneuvering and jockeying among the nobles to line up that support, and sometimes it can take a while.  There are also a bunch of formal ceremonies and such involved with making the claim.  And the High Priest of Karas has to at least not openly denounce the candidate."
	"I forgot about that part," Keritanima admitted.  "But it's not an official rule.  In just about any kingdom, if the church rejects a monarch, the people are likely to reject him too.  Churches hold alot of power over the citizenry, and the king rules at their suffrage.  Especially in monotheseistic nations like Sulasia."
	"Mono-what?" Sarraya asked.
	"Only worshipping one god," she answered.  "We have nine here in Wikuna, so as long as I don't offend a majority of the churches, and the church of Kikkalli in particular, I'm on solid ground."
	"I didn't know you have nine," Tarrin mused.
	"Oh, yes," she smiled.  "Kikkalli is the only name you've ever heard.  She's the goddess of trade, ships, good weather, and the seas, and every Wikuni alive worships her.  But we also have a god of money and prosperity that's fairly popular, a god of luck, a goddess of bad luck, a goddess of joy, and a god of protection.  Denthar, the god of knowledge, and Dragor, the god of creativity, are human gods, but they found roots in our pantheon because they appeal to us, and we also worship Saltemis, the Elder god of the waters and oceans.  We are an ocean-going people, after all," she chuckled.
	"You have two gods of the ocean?" Allia asked in confusion.
	"That way we cover both sides of our butt," Keritanima said with a wolfish smile.  "Saltemis is the Elder God, and that means he's the god of all the oceans.  But Kikkalli is a patron of the seas too, among other things, and she's much more likely to answer our prayers, because she's the ruler of the Wikuni pantheon.  When your entire culture depends on the sea, you don't take any chances that you may offend one of the gods who has sway over it."
	"Ah.  Why worship a god of bad luck?"
	"To keep her from visiting you," Keritanima grinned.  "Shaar isn't worshipped out of love, sister.  She's honored to keep her from singling you out.  A devout Wikuni in search of a little luck first asks for luck from Sheel, then appeases Shaal to keep her from taking that good luck away."
	"Sheel and Shaar?" Tarrin noted.
	"According to Wikuni myth, Shaar was originally the goddess of beauty.  She was in love with Sheel, but he spurned her, so out of spite she became the goddess of bad luck, in order to undo everything Sheel represents.  When she became the goddess of bad luck, she became ugly, and a very old legend says that when she turned ugly and we lost a god of beauty, all the Wikuni turned ugly too," she said in a scoffing manner.  "According to that old story, that's why the gods turned us into what we are now, to hide our looks behind the faces and fur of animals.  I think it's a crock, myself.  In fact, I know it is.  I remember the story you told about our origins, Tarrin.  Our gods changed how we looked to sever us completely from our Sha'Kar origins.  To make us our own people."
	"I'd say they succeeded there," Sarraya agreed.
	"That's an interesting story," Allia mused.  "I'd like to hear more about the legends of your gods someday, sister."
	"Someday when we both have lots of time, I can have every priest and bard in Wikuna tell you everything you want to hear," she smiled. "But that'll have to be later.  Right now, there are more important matters, and I've drifted way off the topic here."
	"We didn't mind, Kerri.  Actually, it was interesting to hear about that," Tarrin assured her.
	"Whatever," she said with a toss of her hair.  "Jenna's going to project over here sometime today, so try  not to go so fast," she teased.  "I thought about it yesterday, but you and Allia must have been racing or something.  It's too hard to keep up with you."
	"Just get ahead of us," Allia told her.
	"We can't do that," she answered.  "You forget how this works.  The Weavescape doesn't match the landscape, so I can't just jump ahead.  Ahead in the Weave is different than ahead in reality.  If I tried that, I may build my projection inside solid rock.  It wouldn't hurt, but I'd be wondering why it was so bloody dark."
	Sarraya laughed richly as she landed on Tarrin's shoulder.
	"I can feel it when you're looking for me, Kerri," Tarrin told her.  "I didn't feel anything yesterday."
	"I didn't really get that close," she answered.  "I can feel you moving around from the Heart, brother.  That's how much of an effect you have on the Weave now.  Anyone in the Heart can feel you moving around."
	Tarrin frowned.  He didn't know that, and more to the point, he didn't like it.  He'd never sensed Spyder like that; perhaps the Urzani had learned to mask herself in some way.  If so, that was a trick he fully intended to learn.  The idea that any Weavespinner could find him any time they wanted did not sit well with his cautious Were-cat nature.
	"Tell Jenna to seek us in the afternoon," Allia told her.  "We'll have stopped for the night by then, and she should be able to find us."
	"That'll work," she said, pulling up the shoulder of her nightgown absently, only to have it immediately slip down her arm.  "Any trouble?"
	"Nothing major," Tarrin answered.  "We had a close call with a kajat, but it wasn't anything serious."
	"How far are you along?"
	"We're about seven days from the Cloud Spire," Allia answered.  "That's our destination.  Tarrin wants to show me the city at its top."
	"I'd like to see that too," Keritanima grinned.
	"Come over when we get there, and you will," he told her.
	"Any instructions or anything you need to pass on?"
	"Not really.  How are Auli and that human doing?"
	"Auli's having a blast," Keritanima chuckled.  "Don't worry, deshaida," she's not acting wild.  She's just having alot of fun.  She has you absolutely pegged, by the way," she winked.  "Sometimes even I forget it's not you.  The human's doing alot better now than he was before.  He has your personality down well enough, but the Illusion wasn't working out as well as we'd hoped."
	"Why not?"
	"The tail never moved," she said with a slight frown.  "It wasn't Dar's fault, though.  He put the tail on, but unless he was there to make it move, it didn't do anything.  One of us had to be with him all the time to make it convincing, or at least that was before."
	"How did you fix it?"
	"Jenna fixed it," she answered.  "She used a spell I've never seen before, a spell I didn't even think was possible.  She Transmuted him!"
	"She what?" Allia asked.
	"She changed him, sister," she said in wonder.  "Right now, he looks, moves, and even smells like a Were-cat.  She even put a lingering weave in him to mimic Tarrin's strength.  I don't know what Jenna did, but I can't even tell the difference now.  It took the boy a little time to figure out how to move the tail and control the claws, but he's more than a mirror image of you now, brother.  I just want to know where she learned how to do that!"
	Tarrin knew exactly which spells she used to do that.  Actually, it was a rather clever idea.  "I taught it to her," he answered.  "I taught her all the spells I learned when I was turned.  I see she's already putting them to good use."
	"And you didn't teach me?" she protested a bit indignantly.
	"We'll have all the time in the world for that later, sister," he told her.
	"I'm going to hold you to that.  It's the least you can do for running out without saying goodbye."
	"We were on a tight schedule," he said contritely.
	"I know, I'm just teasing," she winked.  "How is the desert?"
	"Hot," Sarraya said in a grumble.  "Hot and sandy."
	"I'd say that about describes a desert," Keritanima laughed.
	"Me and the Faerie have been having a running disagreement about whose home is more perfect," Allia said with a sly smile.  "So far, I'm winning."
	"So you say," Sarraya retorted.
	Keritanima looked behind her.  "Well, I'd better go.  Miranda's tugging on my tail for some reason.  Kinda stupid for me to look, isn't it?" she added with a wry smile.  "I can't see anything but scrub and strone."
	"It's a reflex," Tarrin assured her.  "Make sure you pass on the message to Jenna."
	"Will do.  Come visit us in the Heart, brother.  It would be nice to see you."
	"If I think it's safe enough," he replied.
	"I can't ask for more than that.  I have to go.  You three be careful."
	"We will," Allia assured her.
	"Bye deshaida, deshida.  I love you both.  Oh, bye Sarraya."
	"I love you too, and be careful, sister," Allia warned.
	"I love you too, sister.  Keep an eye on our imposters," Tarrin added.
	"Well thank you so much for remembering me," Sarraya huffed acidly.
	"Being the second helm isn't very fun, is it?" Keritanima said with a wolfish, toothy grin, and then her image vanished.
	Sarraya threw her hands up in the air and flitted off, muttering to herself.
	"She's having a bad day, isn't she?" Allia asked with a laugh.

	Although she pouted for a while after Keritanima disappeared, Sarraya's temper improved during the rest of the day.  She became less and less combative, and by sunset she was actually starting to make jokes.  She hadn't been doing that before--at least not what was usual for her--and it was something of a good sign.
	Tarrin had a feeling that he knew what had been bothering Sarraya.  He knew his little friend rather well, and he had the feeling that she'd been just a little intimidated by Allia.  That, and she was a little intimidated also by how close he and she were.  He realized that she was starting to feel like she was both not needed and not wanted, and for Sarraya, that was somewhat intolerable.  It was why she'd been so snippy lately.  The first time they'd gone through the desert, he had absolutely depended on her.  They traded barbs alot, but they were very close.  Sarraya had had that relationship disturbed by Allia, who, she had found out, was not just another Denai.  It wasn't that Var and Denai hadn't been competent, but Tarrin's relationship with them had been very distant at the beginning.  Even though they were with them, Tarrin still only talked with Sarraya.  She'd gotten used to that.  And now here was Allia, who had quite literally taken over their group, and in Sarraya's eyes, had stolen Tarrin away from her.  Tarrin talked with Allia, and joked with Allia, and all of Sarraya's attempts to interject herself had met with miserable failure.  The Selani woman had proved to have a sharp wit that quickly turned the Faerie's barbs and comments, her normal method of starting a conversation, back on her.
	They decided to sto